Carton closing machine



Feb. 22, 1949.

J. W. BINSACK CARTON CLOSING MACHINE Fi1ed Dec. s, 1945 INVENTOR Josspu W-B/MSACK BY a,

iTTORNE Patented Feb. 22, 1949 CARTON CLOSING MACHINE Joseph W. Binsack, New Dorp, N. Y., assignor to Beech-Nut Packing Company, Canajoharie, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application December 8, 1945, Serial No. 633,799

Claims.

The present invention relates to machines for use in closing cartons and further relates to attachments for such machines, and has for its object to provide a novel and improved machine and attachment therefor of this character.

The invention is illustrated, by way of example, in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a portion of a machine embodying the features of the invention in their preferred form;

Fig, 2 is a side view of the same;

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view, taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a detail plan View, on an enlarged scale, of a portion of the machine; and

Fig. 5 is a similar view of a modified form.

The box or carton closing or sealing machine illustrated in the drawings is of the type of the one illustrated and described in the patent to Saylor et al. No. 1,471,924, dated October 23, 1923.

The machine is particularly adapted for closing and sealing boxes or cartons, such as shipping cartons made of corrugated cardboard. Such cartons are usually provided with a bottom wall 2, side walls 4, side flaps 6 which are hingedly connected by scoring or otherwise to the upper edges of the side walls, end walls 8, and end flaps Ill hingedly connected to the upper ends of the end walls.

As shown, the machine is provided with a longitudinally extending support 12. on which the cartons are mounted to slide longitudinally one behind the other. The cartons are adapted to be thus moved along the support by means of conveyor chains l4 that are connected by cross-bars I6 which respectively engage the rear ends of the cartons. As the cartons are thus propelled along the support l2, they pass between guide rails 18. These guide rails may be resilient and their rear ends 20 curved outwardly so that as the cartons pass between them they will come in close sliding contact with the sides of the cartons, and thus accurately guide them longitudinally on the support [2. The guide rails may be adjusted toward and from each other to accommodate cartons of difierent width. As the cartons initially pass between the guide rails [8, both the end fiaps Hi and the side flaps 6 are in partially closed position, with the side flaps overlying or partially overlying the end flaps. During the continued movement of the cartons, suitable devices (not shown) act to engage and swing the end flaps downwardly into substantially horizontal position over the contents of the cartons.

During the further progress of the cartons, the

side flaps 6 thereof engage the beveled sides of a suitable spreading device 22 which serves to swing the side flaps upwardly and outwardly into substantially horizontal position, they being held in this position during the application of adhesive thereto at a subsequent station (not shown).

In machines of this type, considerable difiiculty has been experienced in the side flaps not properly engaging the sides of the spreader 22. This occurs when the side flaps are not opened or raised sufiiciently to engage the sides of the spreader but ride under the spreader, thus resulting in improper closing and sealing of the carton.

In accordance with the present invention, means is provided to insure that as each carton approaches the spreader 22 or other devices for operating on the side flaps, the side flaps will be open sufiiiciently to insure engagement thereof with the sides of the spreader or other devices. As shown, this means comprises a shoe 24 mounted on the inner side of each rail I8, the inner side of the forward portion of the shoe being beveled rearwardly and inwardly.

The shoes are so arranged that as the sides of the carton pass between them they yieldingly ride over the forward vertical edges of the box adjacent the hinged connections and then under the spring pressure exerted by the rails l8 progressively bend the side walls of the box and the hinged connections with the side flaps inwardly as indicated in Figs. 1 and 3. It has been found that said inward bending or buckling of the side walls and the hinged connections, results in the side walls being quickly swungupwardly into substantially vertical position and maintained in that position until the cartons pass the shoes 24.

Thus'it will be apparent that with the side flaps in vertical position, proper engagement thereof with the spreader 22 or other devices for operating on the side walls is insured.

It will be apparent that upon adjusting the side rails to accommodate boxes of different widths, the shoes are correspondingly adjusted. In order to accommodate boxes of different lengths, the shoes 24 may be adjustable along the side rails I 8. To this end each shoe is mounted on a pin or bolt 26 which extends through a slot 28 in the rail, and is held in adjusted postition by means of a nut 30 screw-threaded on the end of the bolt.

In case the guide rails employed are not resilient, the shoe may be pivoted on a pin 32 and pressed inwardly by means of a spring 34 coiled about a pin or bolt 36 which extends through an aperture in the rail with th shoe.

As will be evident to those skilled in the art, my invention permits various modifications without departing from the spirit thereof or the scope of the appended claims. I

What I claim is:

1. In a machine for use in closing cartons having side flaps hingedly connected to the side walls thereof, the combination of means for feeding cartons longitudinally with the side flaps thereof in partially raised position, and means acting automatically as the cartons are thus being fed to bend the side walls inwardly adjacent the hinged connections with the side flaps to cause the side flaps to be swung upwardly to a predetermined position.

2. In a machine for use in closing cartons having side flaps hingedly connected to the side walls its inner end secured to thereof, the combination of means for feeding the cartons longitudinally with the side flaps thereof in partially raised position, guide rails between which the cartons pass as they are thus being fed, the guide rails being resilient so as to closely engage the side walls of the cartons, and shoes mounted on the guide rails between which the cartons are adapted to pass, the resiliency of the guide rails causing said shoes to yieldingly engage the side Walls of the carton and to progressively bend the side walls inwardly adjacent their hinged connections with the side flaps so as to tend to swing the side flaps upwardly to a predetermined position.

3. In a machine for use in closing cartons having side flaps hingedly connected to the side walls thereof, the combination of means for feeding cartons longitudinally with the side flaps thereof in partially raised position, guide rails between which the cartons pass as they are being fed, and devices mounted on the guide rails for yieldingly engaging the side walls adjacent their hinged connections with the side flaps to progressively bend the side walls inwardly so as to tend to swing the side flaps upwardly to a predetermined position.

4. In a machine for use in closing cartons having side flaps. horizontally connected to the side walls thereof, comprising means for feeding the cartons longitudinally one behind the other and spaced apart with the side flaps of the cartons in partially raised position, and a device located above the path. of the upper edges of the side walls of the carton whereby when the side flaps of each carton have been raised at least to a predetermined degree as each carton passes beneath said device the inner sides of said side flaps engage said device so as to cause them to be swung outwardly and downwardly, the improvement which comprises spring-pressed shoes having the inner surfaces of their forward portions beveled inwardly and rearwardly and so arranged that as each carton approaches said device the vertical edges of the forward wall of the carton ride over said beveled portions of the shoes, and then the shoes cause the upper portions of the side walls of the carton to be progressively bent inwardly so as to effect raising of the side flaps at least to said predetermined degree, said shoes being so positioned that the forward end of the carton passes the shoes as the side flaps reach a position to engage said device.

5. In a machine for use in closing cartons having side flaps horizontally connected to the side walls thereof, comprising means for feeding the cartons longitudinally one behind the other and spaced apart with the side flaps of the .cartons in partially raised position, and a device located above the path of the upper edges of the side walls of the carton whereby when the side flaps of each carton have been raised at least to a predetermined degree as each carton passes beneath said device the inner sides of said side flaps engage said device so as to cause them to be swung outwardly and downwardly, the improvement which comprises means for efiecting inward bending of the upper portions of the side walls of each carton to cause the side flaps to be raised to at least said predetermined degree as the carton approaches said device and for maintaining them in said position until said flaps reach a position to engage said device, said side flaps then being released from said bending means.

JOSEPH W. BINSACK.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the 

